Local TV Stations Failing to Maximize Fully on Their Allotted Spectrum

From The Online Reporter   

- Mobile TV in a Few Markets in Q4 but Where Are the Devices? 

- Little Compelling Content on Multicasts

- No Electronic Program Guide

- Hiding Their OTA Light under a Basket 

Widespread cord cutting, or not ever connecting it to begin with for the young, is based on two premises. The local TV stations will supply the major networks with their still-popular TV shows, news and major sports plus perhaps some additional targeted TV and mobile TV. The OTT services will supply more movies and recorded TV shows than the average consumer can watch.

The local stations are falling down on their end of the unwritten bargain. 

Anytime the topic of cutting the cord in the States comes up, it’s necessary to report that local TV stations are each broadcasting two to four channels for free to TV sets with over-the-air antennas (OTA). That means consumers can get all the major networks — NBC, Fox, CBS, ABC and CW — for free. The majors don’t dominate TV viewing like they used to, but offer most major sporting events and good but limited news reporting, both national and local. 

A consumer with an OTA antenna and a Blu-ray player or smart TV that gets Netflix and other online video services would find that he can get more than he can watch. It might not be everything he wants when he wants it but it would absorb all his available viewing hours.

Many local stations are reluctant to trumpet their over-the-air channels because they are now collecting cash from the pay-TV companies for transmitting their channel. 

This week we reported that Channel Master is offering a DVR for OTA antennas and it does not require a monthly subscription fee. It has all the DVR functions that might be expected. Perhaps local TV stations should buy a few thousand Channel Master DVRs and OTA antennas and give them away as part of an OTT promotion. Now that might open a few eyeballs. 

 

The FCC wants to take back some of the spectrum that local TV stations have the rights to and auction it off for mobile broadband. If that happens, the local TV stations could lose some of their local channels and, perhaps more importantly, the ability to offer mobile TV. It’s a project they’ve been working on for several years and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) says its time is drawing near. It expects that mobile TVs from the likes of Samsung and LG will be in stores by year-end. The mobile TV service, which uses mobile DTV technology, is already available in a number of cities but only on prototype receivers. 

Local TV Stations Challenges

The advent of OTT services like Netflix has made it possible for many consumers to cut the cord and still have more to watch than they can consume. But the local stations have to do their part, and so far they have not.

 

To show they’re serious about using the spectrum they’ve been allotted, local stations have to:

 1. Develop and deploy a full-function electronic program guide in each market by working with TV set makers. Rovi could do it for them. The guide has to show what’s on and what will be on for at least the next seven days if not two weeks. It should provide a brief description and list of characters. What is shown now varies from station to station and in many cases is non-existent. It’s horribly inadequate and, as the cablecos learned by losing subscribers to the satcos, consumers today expect a full-function program guide. Most consumers no longer get TV Guide. 

 2. Develop and offer "must-see" programming on their other channels. If the stations are only going to offer the feeds from the big networks and repeats of weather and news, they are not needed. The pay-TV services could get the feeds directly from the networks and offer their own local news and weather. The NAB suggested developing a network geared toward an African-American audience. That’s good but how about one for Asians and Hispanics? A comedy channel? Children? Religious? Sports? Sci-fi? Divvy up the assignments so each station gets some juicy channels. And, we only need one repeat of the weather and news in each market, not one per station. 

 3. Promote their offerings aggressively. Try giving away OTA antennas and OTA DVRs. Subsidize them by buying thousands of them and offering them at bargain prices to get the process started and make the public aware of OTA. 

 4. Get the mobile-TV venture finished and launched including some nifty mobile-TV sets at low, introductory prices. 

If what they’re showing now is the best they can do, then the FCC should take back some or even all of their spectrum and auction it off for mobile broadband for which there is lots of existing demand.

Would you switch from pay TV to OTA that doesn’t have an electronic program guide and a DVR?

Mobile TV Update

The local stations’ free mobile TV will start appearing in the fourth quarter of 2011 in selected cities, according to the Mobile500 Alliance, which is backed by broadcasters owning over 420 stations. Initially it will include 15 to 20 channels. The Alliance said they will be a mix of local and national offerings plus free and pay services. 

It said over 70 stations are already broadcasting mobile DTV signals. 

 

To be successful, mobile TV needs some attractively priced mobile TVs, perhaps launched at bargain prices. They must realize they are competing for consumer time against texting, browsing and portable media devices that are playing consumers’ favorite music and videos. Launching mobile TV successfully won’t be, as they say, a slam dunk. It’s going to take "must have" devices and "must see" shows. The Alliance hopes that CE makers will start building mobile TV antennas into their devices. It would be attractive to consumers to watch live TV for free on their iPad and iPhone, and not have to carry around two devices, wouldn’t it? 

Colleen Brown, president and CEO of Fisher Communications and president of the board of the Mobile500 said, "We think the more mobile content is out there, the more driven the consumer will be to make sure there is a mobile DTV antenna in ... whatever device they’re purchasing." 

The Alliance has called for the creation of a new company called the National Mobile System (NMS) that would base the service on an open-standard-based architecture. It expects it will "provide service to a variety of distribution and content partners who will market service to customers either as a standalone service or in conjunction with broader services and data services they are already offering." 

Members will be asked to either contribute spectrum or create channels for the national services in exchange for equity in NMS. 

 

It also wants to do a deal with a cellco, which would help launch the service, provide subscriber management and provide a cellular service for interactive features. It said such a deal would help the telcos because the one-too-many broadcasts of mobile TV would reduce the heavy demands that video content is placing on cellular networks. 

The Mobile500 said it’s also talking to private equity groups and other strategic partners to provide investments, technology or content. 

The research firm SNL Kagan said mobile TV "opens up a wealth of opportunities for TV broadcasters to expand their programming options into multiple secondary channels that can be received in the home, in the car and on the move — cell phones, laptops, tablets and more." 

Using Their Spectrum

SNL Kagan has come to the local TV stations’ defense of the use of their spectrum with a report that shows their progress with digital TV broadcasts and multicasting.

It said that at the end of 2010, the number of live digital channels for the 1,196 full-power commercial TV stations covered in its report was 2,518, slightly more than two channels per station. 

The majority of a stations 6 MHz or 19.39 Mbps of digital wireless spectrum is used to produce one 1080i or 720p format HD feed of its primary network during prime time. The additional bandwidth can be used for one or two additional 480i format digital secondary channels at about 3 Mbps per channel and up to four mobile video channels using 1 Mbps to 2 Mbps per channel. 

As of the end of 2010, the number of for-profit stations that were multicasting was 71%, or 849 of the 1,196 that Kagan covered, doubling the channel options for viewers with 1,240 additional digital channels, of which 142 are Spanish-language network affiliates and the others being local sports, weather and 24-hour news. 

Its research also covered 349 noncommercial TV stations, of which 83% are multicast and 66% are broadcast HD programming. Of those total digital noncommercial stations covered, 262 are PBS-affiliate stations. 

ION Media Networks leads the Kagan list with 58 full-power DTV stations, 55 HD stations and 126 digital multicast channels, including Qubo children’s programming, ION Life and Worship.net.

ION chairman, president and CEO R. Brandon Burgess is the president of the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC) and part of the Mobile Content Venture (MCV) that includes NBC Universal and FOX Television.

Pure-play TV station groups Sinclair Broadcast Group and Gray Television ranked second and third, with both groups broadcasting in HD and multicasting on the majority of their stations. Sinclair also has plans to launch mobile DTV channels on nine of its stations and Gray TV is broadcasting mobile video on two Nebraska stations.

Sinclair offers a 24-hour country music network airing music videos and "The Cool TV" music network with live local shows. In Vegas it broadcasts the Spanish language Liberman Broadcasting’s Estrella TV on a secondary channel. 

Another content source that is being offered by some stations is "This TV" network, a joint venture of MGM and Weigel Broadcasting that shows older films and TV shows. 

 

The only Big Four broadcast network to rank in the top 10 was number 7 Comcast/NBC Universal’s Telemundo, which multicasts local weather and news programming and Universal Sports. NBC’s Telemundo O&O stations have also begun broadcasting a political news and commentary Spanish-language network "Inmigrante TV" in some markets. 

Kagan said the Consumer Electronics Association estimated that 31 million HDTV sets were shipped in the States in 2010. Kagan estimates that at the end of 2010 the number of homes with HDTVs was 86.9 million, 75% of total US TV households. It estimated that 51% of pay-TV subscribers received HD signals from their pay-TV service at the end of 2010. That figure does not count OTA users. It estimated that 10% to 12% of households solely receive OTA TV and said the number could increase because of the popularity of OTT services like Netflix. 

It expects average HDTV set prices to fall to the $500-to-$600 range during the next five years and bring mass adoption, with more than 80% to 90% HD penetration of the 117 million to 120 million US TV households. 

Kagan said local programming is a station’s differentiator from pay-TV. It said increased revenue "will come only from leveraging all its channels in HD programming, digital multicasting, Internet streaming and emerging mobile DTV channels." 

 

They also need an electronic program guide, a viable mobile TV service, compelling content for the multicast and mobile channels and a lot of publicity for OTA or they will become just another of the 300 or more channels on pay TV. 

The list of actual and potential means nothing, of course, without readily available and attractively priced devices for viewing and a lot of must see content, not just endless news and weather repeats.

Mobile TV Markets:  Live and Upcoming
Asheville, North Carolina	Mobile, Alabama
Atlanta, Georgia	Montgomery, Alabama
Austin, Minnesota	Nassau, Bahamas
Austin, Texas	New Bedford, Massachusetts
Baltimore, Maryland	New York, New York
Birmingham, Alabama	Newport News, Virginia
Boston, Massachusetts	Norfolk, Virginia
Charlotte, North Carolina	Oakfield, California
Chicago, Illinois	Omaha, Nebraska
Cincinnati, Ohio	Orlando, Florida
Colorado Springs, Colorado	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Columbus, Ohio	Phoenix, Arizona
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas	Portland, Oregon
Daytona Beach, Florida	Portsmouth, Virginia
Denver, Colorado	Providence, Rhode Island
Detroit, Michigan	Pueblo, Colorado
Durham, North Carolina	Raleigh, North Carolina
El Paso, Texas	Roanoke, West Virginia
Fort Pierce, Florida	Rochester, Minnesota
Fresno, California	San Antonio, Texas
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida	San Francisco, California
Greenville, South Carolina	San Jose, California
Hastings, Nebraska	Sarasota, Florida
Houston, Texas	Seattle, Washington
Jacksonville, Florida	Spartanburg, South Carolina
Kearney, Nebraska	St. Petersburg, Florida
Knoxville, Tennessee	St.Paul, Minnesota
Las Vegas, Nevada	Tacoma, Washington
Lincoln, Nebraska	Tampa, Florida
Los Angeles, California	Toledo, Michigan
Lynchburg, West Virginia	Topeka, Kansas
Mason City, Iowa	Visalia, California
Melbourne, Florida	Washington D.C
Miami, Florida	West Palm Beach, Florida
Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Wichita, Kansas
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sources:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/469098-Mobile500_Eyes_Fall_Launch_for_National_Mobile_DTV_Service.php
http://www.openmobilevideo.com/_assets/images/OMVC-Coverage-Map.jpg

 
 To see 4 free editions of The Online Reporter, the weekly source for competitive intelligence about digital content, online entertainment services, mobile media and wireless networks, visit http://onlinereporter.com/subscribe/